From the journal of Correctional Officer Steven Williams, March 3

This journal was recovered from a laptop kept in the four wheel drive vehicle that Steven Williams used make his way away from North Platte, Nebraska.
In the beginning of the pandemic, news anchors were instructed to tell the public to head towards the center of the United States. It was incorrectly reported that these states were infection free. CO (Correctional Officer) Williams knew that this was not true and decided to head for the underground tunnels at the Denver International Airport, which is where he met up with my group. The idea was not as well thought out as any of us had thought. But who was thinking clearly in those initial days of the pandemic.


March 3, 2017

     I have worked in the prison system as a guard for 13 years, 8 of which were at the detention center I am still working at. In that time, I have known some truly evil men, but the majority of the inmates I dealt with were just regular guys. Some had bad situations that put them where they were going, others got involved with drugs and ended up in the same place.
     We had gone years without a riot or a major brawl. My jail, Lincoln County Detention Center, is a facility that only houses inmates for a year or so. All the inmates are awaiting sentencing, trial or a transfer. I know that it can be hard on the inmates, being inside their pods for 23 hours a day. The inmates only get to go outside in the cage attached to their pod and there is not much to do outside in the cage, just a basketball court and the dip bars. Otherwise, they are inside in the their pod or in their cell. We try to make it as bearable as possible for the time the inmates are with us. There are common areas in each pod where the inmates can get together. They can play cards or watch TV.  But as a short term stop on their adventures through the court and prison system, we just do not have the ability to provide the same amenities as jails and prisons.
     Last night was the oddest night shift I ever worked! A riot broke out in the common area as dinner was being served. Dinner had been going as well as ever, with little jests and insults flying like always. Then, one of the inmates, #9931, had a seizure and died right there on the floor. One minute he was eating tuna casserole, the next, he was gone. The other CO's were keeping the inmates back while we tried to save him and by the time the prison doc got there, it was already too late. Dr. Anderson decided to do an initial exam right there in the common area. I was assured that everything was under control and walked into the hall to call the chief and explain why the alarm had been set off. That's when the screaming started.
     These are big men with access to the dip bars and room in their cells for body weight exercises. Yet, they were screaming like preteen girls at a Justin Beiber concert. I rushed back into the common area and was struck dumb and unable to move. There was Inmate #9931, who was supposed to be dead. Dr. Anderson was in his arms and Inmate #9931 had used the doctor as a chew toy, until the doctors neck looked like a chewed up chunk of meat. The other inmates and a few of the CO's rushed for the doors, which is not usually allowed, and were pushing, shoving and fighting to get out; discipline had gone right out the window. Their screams turned Inmate #9931 from his current snack and he saw that there was fresh meat on the hoof close by.
     Inmate #9931 was shambling towards everyone. God, I never thought I would use that word but it is the best way to describe the way he was moving. Like the mummy in old black and white Hollywood movies. The doctor got back to his feet and started the same shuffling step after those still in the room. The two of them were biting as many people as they could get to. Sometimes they would stop to get more of a snack and other times, they would bite and get immediately distracted by another tasty morsel screaming at the rear of the panicking mob.

     I marshaled the CO's still in possession of their senses and we moved towards the two creatures. As unarmed CO's, we did not have the chance for a quick take down with a weapon. The tables and seats are all attached to the floor which left us with few options. CO Phillips pushed his way into the common area with batons from the outside hall and passed them to the six CO's still in the room. I made sure they all understood to go for the head, as crazy as that sounded. It took me and CO Sanchez to take down Inmate #9931. Two of the others took our Dr. Anderson while the other two kept an eye on all those who had been bitten, 13 inmates and 2 CO's. There were a couple of other inmates and one CO on the floor already dead or in the process of dying. Other CO's arrived and escorted all the unhurt inmates to their cells and calm finally was returned. It happened so fast, Sanchez and I had acted on instinct and the others followed our lead. It felt like some video game come to life where the dead just keep coming back.

     Chief Murphy walked in as the last of the unhurt inmates were escorted to their cells. He demanded answers that none of us had to give. I mean, our doctor was laying on the floor with an inmate and both of their heads were bashed in! How were we to know what the hell was going on?
     That's when it started all over again. The dead got up and went for the living. Chief Murphy ordered the approaching dead CO to cease approaching. This was about as effective as requesting a  charging attack dog to stop in its tracks. He lost two fingers before we could take out the dead CO, Patrick Sola. The Chief was still shouting orders at CO Sola as his fingers were chomped on and disappeared into the stomach of the recently dead CO.
     Our orders changed from there. Anyone killed by either Inmate #9931 or Dr. Anderson were shot in the head with the riot riffles brought to the common room. Those injured, including Chief Murphy, were taken for treatment and observation to the Medical Pod. By the end of my shift, everything had calmed down and mostly returned to normal. I don't think that I have ever been as excited to see the time change to 2 a.m. and I was the first out the Main Entry Gate once relieved of duty by the next shift.
     I came home, ate a TV dinner and went to bed. Man, tomorrow better be a better day.

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